Readings for Friday following Epiphany[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 1 John 5:5-13
Who (indeed) is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 5:5-13
St. John’s first letter fully prepares us for the Baptism of the Lord which approaches. His reference to “Water” is a reference to the Lord’s Baptism. The “Spirit” is a reference to the Holy Spirit descending upon the Lord as he came out of his baptismal bath. Finally he refers to Blood which is a symbol of the Cross. In that event also was God’s own testimony about the identity of his Only Son (Matthew 3:16-17). St. John’s logic in this passage teaches that if one does not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, they call God a liar because he testified to the identity of His Son.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. This selection is the third of three calls to praise within the psalm. In these strophes we see the call to praise Jerusalem, the Holy city because in it was revealed the Word of God and a call to holiness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 5:12-16
Now there was a man full of leprosy
in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 5:12-16
In this account of Jesus curing the leper, we see two remarkable details. First, it was the Hebrew law that those designated as “unclean” could not approach anyone closer than about ten feet. This leper was clearly much closer. He was close enough to Jesus who “stretched out his hand, touched him”. Not just with a word was this leper made clean. The Lord touched him which by Hebrew law as taboo. In one action the Lord demonstrates his power over the disease and his authority over the law. The crowds throng him once again because of his holiness and once more, he withdraws to speak with the Father (“…but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We hear a great deal of bad news about the economy through the media these days. Each day there is a new batch of stories, most of them tragic, about the impact this global recession is having on people’s lives. The stories range from the poignant tales of families loosing their homes or jobs to the bigger picture stories – the president-elect demanding congress to take swift action or Iceland’s major bank suing England over its treatment. Buried within the sensational headlines is real human suffering. At this point, there are probably few people who have not been affected, directly or indirectly, by this event. The important question is what are we, as Christians to do about it?
As in all questions of this nature there are ranges of responses; from the “all I can do is pray” to the “I will help everyone in the world, one person at a time” attitudes. The one attitude we cannot have is one expressed in a sort of twisted way by the comedian Will Rogers who said “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”
When the man full of leprosy came to Jesus, the Lord, seeing the man’s faith, took unprecedented action. He approached him, something Mosaic Law forbade; and he actually reached out his hand and touched him. In the process of demonstrating the authority and power of the Son of God, the man was healed; but more than healed. This was a life changing event. As a leper ths man would have been outcast. He lived a solitary life keeping company only with others who were also isolated from the community in which they were born and raised. It was only through the charity of former friends or family that he would survive – dependent upon them as he was for food. A leper could have no profession.
In that moment, Jesus gave him back not just his health, but his life. A simple act for the Lord transformed a person and it all started with faith. That is the lesson we all must take from this situation: faith and response. Coming back to the earlier imparities of what can we do to help those suffering from the ravages of this savage recessionary time, we find those of faith who are beseeching the Lord for help and respond as we are able, in love and charity, without condescension, without any superior attitudes. We respond as we can. Perhaps it is just with prayer, but we cannot let ourselves be comfortable and in our free moments relax thinking we have done our part. Just as Jesus took extraordinary measures to cure the leper, we are called to step out of our comfort zones to help those in uncharacteristic need. In all of recent history, this is a time when the Christian community must pull together to help our brothers and sisters in need.
Today, as our Christmas season draws to an end, we take stock of the blessings we have and look to those so devastated by economic strife. We pray for the strength today to reach out with the hand of Christ and give back a life, wounded by the world – saved by faith.
Pax
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 1 John 5:5-13
Who (indeed) is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 5:5-13
St. John’s first letter fully prepares us for the Baptism of the Lord which approaches. His reference to “Water” is a reference to the Lord’s Baptism. The “Spirit” is a reference to the Holy Spirit descending upon the Lord as he came out of his baptismal bath. Finally he refers to Blood which is a symbol of the Cross. In that event also was God’s own testimony about the identity of his Only Son (Matthew 3:16-17). St. John’s logic in this passage teaches that if one does not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, they call God a liar because he testified to the identity of His Son.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. This selection is the third of three calls to praise within the psalm. In these strophes we see the call to praise Jerusalem, the Holy city because in it was revealed the Word of God and a call to holiness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 5:12-16
Now there was a man full of leprosy
in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 5:12-16
In this account of Jesus curing the leper, we see two remarkable details. First, it was the Hebrew law that those designated as “unclean” could not approach anyone closer than about ten feet. This leper was clearly much closer. He was close enough to Jesus who “stretched out his hand, touched him”. Not just with a word was this leper made clean. The Lord touched him which by Hebrew law as taboo. In one action the Lord demonstrates his power over the disease and his authority over the law. The crowds throng him once again because of his holiness and once more, he withdraws to speak with the Father (“…but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We hear a great deal of bad news about the economy through the media these days. Each day there is a new batch of stories, most of them tragic, about the impact this global recession is having on people’s lives. The stories range from the poignant tales of families loosing their homes or jobs to the bigger picture stories – the president-elect demanding congress to take swift action or Iceland’s major bank suing England over its treatment. Buried within the sensational headlines is real human suffering. At this point, there are probably few people who have not been affected, directly or indirectly, by this event. The important question is what are we, as Christians to do about it?
As in all questions of this nature there are ranges of responses; from the “all I can do is pray” to the “I will help everyone in the world, one person at a time” attitudes. The one attitude we cannot have is one expressed in a sort of twisted way by the comedian Will Rogers who said “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”
When the man full of leprosy came to Jesus, the Lord, seeing the man’s faith, took unprecedented action. He approached him, something Mosaic Law forbade; and he actually reached out his hand and touched him. In the process of demonstrating the authority and power of the Son of God, the man was healed; but more than healed. This was a life changing event. As a leper ths man would have been outcast. He lived a solitary life keeping company only with others who were also isolated from the community in which they were born and raised. It was only through the charity of former friends or family that he would survive – dependent upon them as he was for food. A leper could have no profession.
In that moment, Jesus gave him back not just his health, but his life. A simple act for the Lord transformed a person and it all started with faith. That is the lesson we all must take from this situation: faith and response. Coming back to the earlier imparities of what can we do to help those suffering from the ravages of this savage recessionary time, we find those of faith who are beseeching the Lord for help and respond as we are able, in love and charity, without condescension, without any superior attitudes. We respond as we can. Perhaps it is just with prayer, but we cannot let ourselves be comfortable and in our free moments relax thinking we have done our part. Just as Jesus took extraordinary measures to cure the leper, we are called to step out of our comfort zones to help those in uncharacteristic need. In all of recent history, this is a time when the Christian community must pull together to help our brothers and sisters in need.
Today, as our Christmas season draws to an end, we take stock of the blessings we have and look to those so devastated by economic strife. We pray for the strength today to reach out with the hand of Christ and give back a life, wounded by the world – saved by faith.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture today is “Christ Healing a Leper” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1657-60
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved
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